


Forty Seven Billion Light Years

by rhythmyeon



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Cute Zhang Yi Xing | Lay, First Love, First Meetings, M/M, Musical References, Singer Byun Baekhyun, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:48:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26375215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhythmyeon/pseuds/rhythmyeon
Summary: what if we chased each other's voices until the edge of a thousand universes?_Baekhyun has only heard his soul mate in his head. Through their piano sonatas and violin strings. But even there, they sound sad now. Baekhyun wonders why.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay
Comments: 10
Kudos: 17





	Forty Seven Billion Light Years

**Author's Note:**

> a baekxing soulmate au brought to you by me having a lot of free time (no jk, this was a gift for a precious friend♡)  
> warnings include: grammatical errors (typos, misplaced tenses, punctuations, etc.), inconsistent timelines, plotholes galore, incorrect pacing, mild angst and many more.
> 
> Um, happy reading I guess!!

** Forty Seven Billion Light Years **

story premise: a soulmate au in which one is able to hear certain sounds their soul mate listens to frequently

••••••••••••••

  
_~initium_

⋆｡˚

It had started on the day after Baekhyun's vocal nodule surgery had taken place.

"Mr. Byun, I'm afraid you won't be able to sing for an indefinite amount of time." These words had somewhat shattered Baekhyun's entire frame of mind. As an aspiring singer he had come to see his ability to sing as not just a livelihood, but as his life itself.

He could hear his manager scream at the doctor about how this was unfair on Baekhyun and the doctor was trying to placate her saying that nodule surgeries do have drastic repercussions and recovery periods from time to time. But Baekhyun paid no attention to the bickering pair. He was too lost in staring at the white ceiling of the hospital room, hopelessly for some reason.

And now, in the present moment as he sat in the auditorium of the renowned Orient Speech Therapy Centre in China, he was reminded of the thing, the _person_ who made him realise his passion for singing.

Even now that person was still playing the soft songs in his mind, just as he had been since Baekhyun could hear them at the age of six. The dulcet murmurs of the piano were still alive in the recesses of his mind as he thought of his _soul_ _mate_ , the only person who could make him feel better using only the tips of their fingers, the only one Baekhyun was brought into this world for.

Baekhyun never knew them. Still does not know them. Doesn't know their name or if they are a boy or a girl or a man or a woman, or if their eyes are the colour of Baekhyun's favourite coffee roast, or if they spend as much time thinking about Baekhyun as he thinks of them.

But Baekhyun knew each and every piece of music they had ever played, had tried to recite to them with his own mumblings and had them memorized to the point that even a serious bout of amnesia wouldn't be able to make him forget all those symphonies. Because how could he? How could he forget the lullabies which had helped him sleep during the nights of extreme weariness, the melodies which had kept him company during the excruciating days of when he was practicing for his debut. He could never forget his most favourite songs.

Recently though, the songs of his soulmate had been dull. They had lacked the rhythm and happiness which always enveloped Baekhyun's heart in a soft, woolly tandem. They were devoid of the warmth and hope which Baekhyun was dependant on.

Baekhyun didn't know the reasons for this change, but he wanted to remedy it. He wanted to wash away all the lingering sadness he felt from his soul mate's side, not only from his own mind but theirs too. But to do that, he'd first have to know _who_ his soul mate was. Baekhyun smiled bitterly at that. Twenty five years in his life, and he still had not met his other half.

And now, he wasn't able to sing to their music even. He wondered if these speech or voice therapy sessions or whatever his doctor has assigned him to, would work or not. He didn't know why, but it felt as though him not being able to sing was something he was doing to disappoint his soul mate. May be that's the reason why they were so sad recently? Baekhyun sighed. Ah, but he would never know if that was true.

He glanced at his watch and wondered for how long his voice therapist was going to make him wait. Granted, he had nothing better to do, what with all his schedules put on a hiatus because of his condition. But he still wanted to know if he would ever be able to make improvements in his voice. It still felt as hoarse as it was before the surgery and Baekhyun still felt as though someone was trying to pour wet sand down his throat whenever he tried to sing. But he still had that tiny glimmer of hope that there could be something done about it.

Deep in his thoughts, when Baekhyun was tracing that one red thread on the auditorium chair he was sat upon, he heard a harmonious violin.

Baekhyun recognised the melody instantly. It was the _Amazing_ _Grace_. He knew it hands down because of all the times he had heard it from his soul mate. And even now, Baekhyun can hear the symphony playing in his mind, as well as in the room outside the auditorium.

The violin piece filled him with the same thrill he had felt everytime it had played in his thoughts. And that thrill made him rush to that room like a madman. And that was when he saw _him_ for the first time in his life.

If Baekhyun had not known that the man was playing Amazing Grace, he would have been able to make it out by seeing the very graceful movements of the violinist. Baekhyun watched as the man's body swiveled marvellously according to the music. His _soul_ _mate_ was beautiful, not just the way he melted himself in the music he played but he was beautiful in the sense that his face glowed with a vibrant youth. He might seem like the same age as Baekhyun, even older maybe but he had more life than anyone else. And as he blinked open his pretty almond shaped eyes, Baekhyun saw that they were indeed the same colour as his favourite coffee roast. But the way he stretched the strings, the way he was wielding the bow so delicately and was swaying it across the body of the instrument was as beautiful as watching a plethora of cherry blossom petals flowing down from their perch in the trees and dazzling the viewer. It was as if Baekhyun was watching an angel himself playing the heavenly hymn.

Momentarily dazed by the over sensitive music, Baekhyun did not realise when he had closed his eyes, but no sooner did they snap open than he heard the sound of clapping and cheers. As he looked up, he saw the violinist was bowing low in front of a few children who were sat around on the floor, as mesmerized as Baekhyun was.

Still dazed as he was, Baekhyun failed to notice when the violinist asked him something and subsequently walked towards him, with his entourage consisting of children. The man was still asking him, in Chinese which Baekhyun failed to understand, but _oh! Baekhyun's supposed soul mate was talking to him_. And Baekhyun was sure he was making a total fool out of himself by gaping at the man but who would fault him? The man's lovely, honeyed voice was the most beautiful thing Baekhyun had ever heard. More beautiful than the music he was able to hear in his mind.

The man spoke something again and he heard the bunch of kids laugh out loud. Not wanting to further embarrass himself, Baekhyun thought that it was the perfect time for him to high tail out of there. And thus, trying not to fall over his own feet Baekhyun turned and stammered out a sorry in broken Chinese and ran away to his seat in the auditorium. The children's laughter echoed after him and he was sure the handsome violinist, _Baekhyun's soul mate_ , was laughing at him too.

His last thought as he sat down with a mild pout, waiting for his vocal instructor to arrive, was that his first meeting with his soul mate could have gone in many, many better ways.

⋆｡˚

Another failed session of voice therapy and Baekhyun was ready to bolt out of the room, out of the establishment and out of the country as well.

These supposed voice experts were doing nothing but making him gargle and belt out notes for mere minutes. Granted, he knew the process was meant to be slow, but not _this slow!_ They were even asking him to sing Chinese songs now. Yes, of course Baekhyun loved a bit of Chinese music but currently he wasn't in the right mind to learn a whole new language and sing in it, biting down on his tongue occasionally as he tried to grasp the syllables and the phonetics.

He heaved out a long suffering sigh and turned towards the open window which showed the late summer's night sky, dotted down with twinkling stars and the crescent moon. He wondered if he'll get to see his soul mate again. Baekhyun hadn't seen the guy ever since that time in the room beside the auditorium and the subsequent embarrassment Baekhyun went through by stumbling over his own untied shoelaces, that too in front of kids.

"Baekhyun." He turned towards his manager. She was wringing her hands again, Baekhyun needed to tell her to cease that habit soon. "We know that you're not really liking the way these therapy sessions are not giving the desired results," Good thing that she still had the inkling of how impatient Baekhyun really was. "And we also know that you won't sing the songs the instructor asks you of. So, Mr. Liu here," She pointed to the instructor then. "He says that it will be nice if you were able to compose and write some new songs. He thinks it might help you refresh your mind and start with the therapy anew."

Baekhyun was pondering over what his manager had said and about how it might actually benefit him to write a few songs now, when the violinist from that day arrived in their therapy room. Baekhyun looked wide eyed at the man as he conversed with Baekhyun's vocal instructor in Chinese. The instructor must have said something about Baekhyun because the man then looked up and gave him a tight lipped smile which didn't reach his eyes.

"Mr. Byun." The instructor called out in Korean. "Since we said you should try and channel your thoughts into writing lyrics, Yixing here will help you in doing so." _Yixing_. His soul mate's name was Yixing! It sounded as charming as the man owning that name was. "He is a part time instructor here for some of our younger students and is a prodigy when it comes to making music, so I'm sure he'll provide you with more than enough help." Here Baekhyun's soul mate, Yixing mumbled something in Chinese but his tone suggested he was being bashful.

The instructor exchanged a few more words with his manager and left after a while but Baekhyun was too busy oggling at Yixing to notice. He saw the warm brown eyes of his soul mate. They were as vibrant as ever yet so upclose they felt a bit dulled down, like how their owner's music was recently. Baekhyun furrowed his own brows. What was it that was troubling his soul mate?

"Hello, I'm Zhang Yixing. I hope you'll be able to improve your condition in your stay here at our facility." Baekhyun snapped to attention as soon as he heard his soul mate's honeyed voice. "You can speak Korean?!" At this point, Baekhyun was sure Yixing was hellbent on giving him surprises at every waking moment.

Yixing just laughed sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck. "Yes, I learned it at a fifteen week crash course." Baekhyun had this unexplainable curiosity as to why he learned Korean, even when he had that slight gist of the reason why. But Yixing interrupted his thoughts from escalating into a conundrum. "So, about our composing sessions, do you think you'll be fine with meeting at the garden terrace on the fourth floor right wing on Wednesdays? I usually have my nights off on Wednesdays so we can meet after my last class of the day which ends at 6 PM. But if you want to, then we can choose some other day..." Yixing prompted tentatively.

"Wednesdays are totally fine with me. We can meet up after 6 PM." Baekhyun offered him one of his rectangle smiles and he got a pretty smile in return from Yixing too. "Ok then, I will see you around. Good night." Yixing bowed a bit and both Baekhyun and his manager reciprocated the gesture and watched as the man went about his way out of the auditorium.

With a merry little grin etched on his face, Baekhyun thought of how he couldn't wait for Wednesday to arrive.

⋆｡˚

Baekhyun loved Wednesdays now. Because on Wednesdays he was able to see his soul mate, was able to spend time with him even if Yixing didn't know of them being soul mates.

The garden terrace on the fourth floor right wing was a thing of beauty through and through. The entire five hundred square feet area was enclosed within the concrete barricades, with long wooden benches aligning the walls on one side. Various varieties of petunias were planted in designer pots and the terrace looked brilliantly decorated with vines of colourful leaves. And in the middle of it all, a small piano was situated with its top, front and side boards made of grey painted wood.

It was here that Baekhyun and Yixing had decided to call each other by their given names and Baekhyun had found out that Yixing was only a few months older than him, pursuing a post graduate degree in music in a near by university. Baekhyun had already imprinted that memory deep inside his brain.

For this week's session, Yixing had told him that he would write a Korean song's lyrics for him and then Baekhyun would have to explain him the concept behind it, which would maybe help Baekhyun to come up with something new.

Yixing was humming a familiar tune, one which Baekhyun couldn't really place his finger on. He had heard of it many times but now he couldn't identify it. And as he looked over from Yixing's shoulder, Baekhyun realised that the man was actually writing something Baekhyun had already written. _His own song!_

Yixing passed him the pastel green notepad, "Come on now, read it and explain it to me." Baekhyun was sure he was sweating buckets at this point but maybe he could play it off by saying the evening air was too hot.

"Ah um.." He pretended to think over the Korean syllables his soul mate had written. The handwriting looked perfect way better than Baekhyun's own, like some proficient scholar had practiced his calligraphy by writing them. Baekhyun concluded that Yixing, even being a native Chinese speaker, had an excellent grasp of writing Korean letters. He must have practiced a lot.

Yet the words seemed unfamiliar to Baekhyun. It could be since Yixing had misplaced a few words here and there from his song. Baekhyun sighed. It looked like escaping from this ordeal was going to be a bit difficult for him.

"How about you give me a Chinese song Yixing? I'm used to deciphering Korean songs so much that I don't particularly think they will be able to inspire me to write something. But I guess a different language would do wonders." Baekhyun had never used such tactics with his music production team back in Seoul to escape from work but right now he was ready to go to that extra mile just so that Yixing won't find out about him being his soul mate.

Yixing looked thoughtful for a minute. "I suppose you are right. It could help you look from a different perspective." And with he sat down to write a new song. 

They spent the complete duration of the session going over various Chinese ballads. Yixing transcribing the Chinese letters of the songs into Korean ones so that Baekhyun was able to read them better and Baekhyun asking for the meanings of metaphors and epithets and also absconding from the questions whenever Yixing asked him about his own music.

All the while, Baekhyun was so absorbed in the lovely presence of his soul mate, he didn't realise that it was already nightfall and that they both had to go back, Baekhyun back to his room and Yixing back to his apartment which Baekhyun had learnt was a few blocks away from the centre.

Baekhyun was packing in his things to go back to his allotted suite for the night and that's when Yixing started with that song again. Baekhyun knew the man was humming his _Take You Home_ and it made him fill with this immense amount of giddiness that he couldn't stop himself from asking. "You're always humming that tune. Is it your favourite song? I don't really recognise it." Playing dumb was probably not right in this situation but Baekhyun had no other choice. He wanted to know whether his soul mate actually had heard his music the same way Baekhyun has been hearing his.

Yixing kept humming that one part which Baekhyun loved so much from the entire song, and after pausing he just smiled and replied, "Yes, it's my favourite song." And Baekhyun's heart was full blown with love and happiness, both at hearing Yixing's declaration and seeing the most gorgeous smile on his face and that tiny little dimple which Baekhyun never knew he would fall so hard for.

"It's a song I always sing to whenever I feel lost. You could say it's my muse. It's not my own song but it feels like it was written for me." Yixing paused, wiping his hand over the now covered keys of the piano and Baekhyun was bursting inside about how close Yixing had hit home, because that song had definitely been written for Yixing, Baekhyun's soul mate.

"It reminds me that there's someone who's waiting for me at the other side, someone for whom _I_ have waited for a very long time. It gives me this awkward sense of comfort which I have been longing for since.. _forever_. It makes me smile." Yixing's radiant, beautiful smile at this point was so overwhelming for Baekhyun. As overwhelming as his spoken words were, because Baekhyun had intended to make his soul mate feel all those things when he was writing Take You Home, and the fact that Yixing had actually felt all that, was _still_ _feeling_ all that, made Baekhyun so proud of himself he was sure he would never be able to express his accomplishment.

"I've been hearing that song for a long while now. But these days I'm unable to do so." Yixing's expression turned more dismal. "It worries me a bit." And Baekhyun now realised why it worried him. Why the music he had been hearing had been tinged with sadness, why his soul mate's eyes had shone with that same sadness. It was because Baekhyun was unable to sing now, due to his surgery. And because he couldn't sing, Yixing wasn't able to hear him. It was all his fault, Baekhyun thought with a frown.

"But I for sure know that I'll be able to hear it soon. It's been long but I know it won't be too long." Yixing was smiling his starshine smile again, the one which made Baekhyun weak in his knees. He wondered if it was really possible to trust someone so much, someone whom you didn't know aside from their voice. But Yixing seemed adamant about Baekhyun's recovery, even though he actually didn't know that it was _Baekhyun_ singing that song in his head.

He lifted his gaze which had shied away from Yixing's cute smile towards the wall of the room, and asked, "Will you sing it for me someday?" Because he truly wanted to hear his own song in someone else's voice. Someone else who'll be able to sing it more beautifully, more effortlessly than he ever could.

Yixing hiked up his sling bag over his shoulder and as he moved towards the door to exit the terrace, he said, "I will, someday. When you'll be able to sing it along with me." And with another dimpled smile he was out.

⋆｡˚

The next week, Yixing surprised Baekhyun by presenting him with a notepad as soon as they stepped foot on the garden terrace.

Baekhyun stared at him like the lost puppy he was and Yixing was forced to exhale a sigh. "Today, you are going to write some lyrics instead of just asking me to write different songs for you." Baekhyun pouted immediately. "But I like it when you write all those songs. Perhaps you will sing for me today?" Baekhyun asked, his excitement explicitly shone in his chocolate eyes.

Yixing just leveled him a deadpan stare. "These sessions are for you to get some inspiration to write songs which in turn will motivate your voice to get better, Baekhyun." Baekhyun honestly loved it when his soul mate pronounced his name in that Chinese accent but not when his tone of voice was reprimanding like now.

Now, Baekhyun was the one sighing. "I know how it is. But I swear I can't write something unless my mind is all calm and not fluttering about with anxiety about whether or not I'll be able to sing soon." And he saw that Yixing's eyes held a tiny bit of sympathy for him.

"Well I'd agree with your point that you need that certain peace of mind to write new lyrics. You need to set up that oneiric mood which is definitely unlike the environment this centre presents you with." Baekhyun would totally disagree with Yixing because for him the mood and the setting was perfect, sitting with his soul mate in the dim receding light of the sunset. But he was damned to write only sappy, lovey-dovey lyrics and creep Yixing out like that.

Suddenly Yixing's eyes fogged up a bit and he turned towards Baekhyun and said in the most fervent tone possible, "Would you mind if I play a tune for you? It's a lyric-less song I've been playing for a long time but I was never able to write anything. Maybe you'll be able to write a proper song." And who was Baekhyun to deny such an earnest plead? And obviously, he would never miss out on hearing his soul mate's music. Baekhyun just nodded his assent like an excited puppy and Yixing's smile lit up the entire terrace.

Yixing went over and sat on the piano, breathing in the crisp summer breeze and getting ready to play. "Listen, concentrate and try to write something, yeah?" He directed towards Baekhyun and Baekhyun smiled a tiny smile, and got ready with his writing pad to pen down something, _anything_. But he never even had the slightest idea that Yixing was going to play _that_ tune for him.

Yixing's pale, nimble fingers hit the piano keys and for a moment Baekhyun's gaze transfixed over how they glided effortlessly across the monochrome keys, his right hand as tense as the strings of the instrument itself while his left one melting alongside the elongated keys. Baekhyun never doubted that Yixing was a talented musician. He had seen, or more like _heard_ his growth in music since their childhood. But now seeing Yixing like this, letting loose and getting into his perfect element was a sight to behold and Baekhyun was more than glad he was getting to witness it.

But then he remembered the song, as the melody which he had been listening to ever since he was little. The notes and the chords might have improved with time but even now the overflow of emotions he got from listening to it hadn't changed.

It reminded him of the sparkling shooting stars he'd always wanted to see with his soul mate, streaking across the pitch black night sky, taking with them his, no _their_ dreams and hopes on a long ride in space. It reminded him of the bustling city roads where he always rode his bicycle with his friends, wandering aimlessly and chasing around memories. It reminded him of the pure, transparent water in the hidden springs on the mountains at his grandma's place, where he used to wash away the small mud stains from his pants. It reminded him of both, the serene times he spent playing around under the sun and getting its bright, red glow imprinted behind his eyelids and also the troublesome times when he could only see the world through the grey scale. It reminded him of all things warm. It reminded him of _love_. His _first_ _love_ which was known yet unknown to him. 

Yixing was still playing the song and Baekhyun took the chance to note down his thoughts. He wrote about plain, grainy hourglasses and colourful kaleidoscopes, about fresh mornings and eerie twilights, about classrooms and textbooks, about fate and future. He wrote of greeting someone for the first time. He wrote of meeting that someone at a place farthest from goodbyes. He wrote about all the things Yixing reminded him of.

And when Yixing was about to end the song, Baekhyun went over the broken lyrics he wrote. Perhaps his original idea of not writing a love song had failed him. He looked up and smiled at Yixing who was busy cracking his knuckles. At least he'll be able to see and hear Yixing's lovely laugh while making fun of his own poetic abilities.

⋆｡˚

It was another Wednesday which meant another lyric session with Yixing and Baekhyun was skipping like an excited child towards to the garden terrace now, eager to meet Yixing and tell him about how he was able to sing an entire verse in today's session and that the instructor was pretty much impressed by him and his progress. He could now finally sing and tell Yixing that he was the one who sang Take You Home, the one who was always singing for Yixing. He can't wait to see Yixing's reaction. Would he be happy? Or would he say that he had known all along that they were soul mates? Baekhyun would find out soon.

As he arrived at the terrace, Baekhyun found it empty. Yixing must be busy elsewhere, conducting a class with the kids perhaps. He decided to keep himself ready, knowing that he was sure to fumble around while telling Yixing about being his soul mate and then _apologising_ because seriously, what was he even thinking by hiding it like this??

While fidgeting around, Baekhyun saw that the piano there was uncovered. Someone must have forgotten to cover it up while leaving. He decided, since he was going to wait for Yixing anyhow, he could play it a bit. It had been a long while since he had played a piece on piano anyways.

As Baekhyun sat down and played it, he hummed this one winter song from his childhood although he couldn't remember the words from it. He shifted from one song to another until he came back to singing Take You Home. And all the while he was singing the song, he failed to notice that Yixing had already arrived at the place and was watching him all shell shocked.

When the song ended, Baekhyun inhaled a big sigh and smiled triumphantly. Feeling so smug he turned around and saw a gobsmacked Yixing, standing near the entrance of the garden terrace. Yixing's entire posture screamed uncertainty and Baekhyun was loathed to agree but he was as anxious as ever.

"You're the one who sang _that_ song, its original version." Yixing exclaimed after a long, pregnant pause. Baekhyun's nervousness shot up to cloud nine. He didn't know how he was suppose to respond now, whether he should say sorry or remain mum. But his mouth decided to work on its own without a filter. "Uh, yes. It's called Take You Home. I, uh, wrote it for my soul mate. For _you_ , Yixing."

Yixing developed this one expression of pure frustration on his face, running his hand through his soft brown hair over and over again and Baekhyun was cursing himself internally because _what was he thinking blurting it out like that?!_

Yixing came and sat down on the bench, his head held in both of his hands. "So, I see now that you're able to sing properly without any discomfort." His voice sounded as flat as Baekhyun's heartbeat was going to be in a few moments. Baekhyun scratched his cheek a bit in nervousness. This was not how he had planned on confronting Yixing and revealing to him his identity as Yixing's soul mate.

His eyes still closed in apprehension, Yixing asked, "When were you going to tell me?" Baekhyun was taken aback by the question even though he had a very clear idea that Yixing would ask him that. "I'm sorry Yixing, I was just about t-" but Yixing interrupted him in the middle.

"Do you know for _how_ _long_ I have waited for you?" His voice still devoid of the anger Baekhyun was expecting. "I always thought I'd never be able to see you, because you always sang in that different language. I thought you were far, far away from me. Even when I could hear you sing all those times, I still felt that distance and I was distraught over the fact that I might never be able to meet you. And then suddenly, your songs stopped." Yixing tried to wipe his tears discreetly but Baekhyun saw it nonetheless and something inside his heart broke seeing that gesture.

"At first I thought perhaps you were sick, because a few days of break in your songs was not unusual since I had experienced that before. But then this one break went on for weeks and I was worried that..." He left it unsaid but Baekhyun understood because he had heard that the sounds stop if one's soul mate.. _passes_ _away_.

"I took it to heart but still decided to not dwell on it much. Tried to propel myself into work here and it worked to some extent. Then you arrived here and that day near the auditorium.." Yixing abruptly stopped and started laughing, his eyes still glittering with a few remnants of droplets and Baekhyun was more than perplexed.

Yixing must have felt his confusion because then he looked up at him and smiled that pretty, substantial smile which Baekhyun had fallen for. "I had imagined all sorts of things about meeting my soul mate for the first time. I had thought we'd meet at some music event where you'd be singing with that beautiful voice of yours and then somehow I'd find you back stage and once we both see each other the time would stop." Baekhyun shook his head with a slight snort, his cheeks colouring with pink just as Yixing's were. He had thought in a similar way about his first meeting with his soul mate too.

Yixing continued after a few seconds. "My favourite one was imagining the two of us meeting at a desolate desert by some weird twist of fate, with no one there to witness our encounter except the warm autumn wind and the dusky moonless night sky swarming with endless stars. Feeling as though we are at the edge of a thousand universes." Baekhyun had thought only he had such saccharine, over sentimental thoughts about his soul mate, but here was Yixing, proving why they were made for each other. _Literally_.

"And the reality is far from my fantasy." Yixing's melodious laughter filled the air and Baekhyun who was already thirty six feet into love, fell a bit more. "We met at a speech therapy centre of all the places." Baekhyun was sure the mirth glittering in Yixing's eyes was reflected in his own.

"And my first words to you..." Yixing rubbed the bridge of his nose in fond exasperation. "I had given a lot of thought as to how I would greet you." Just as Baekhyun had. "A voice that I've known for a long, long time.. what should be my first words for them? I had asked myself this question so many times. But calling you a small child and asking you if you were lost was definitely not the answer to it." He finished while laughing again.

"So _that_ was what you said to me in Chinese?" Baekhyun was again sporting the fish-out-of-the-water look on his face because Yixing was laughing uncontrollably now. Baekhyun simpered, his heart still full with love, "I'll have you know I'm not small. I'm as tall as you are." He glared a bit at his still giggling soul mate. A small smile bloomed on Baekhyun's face without his permission.

But slowly that smile turned itself into a frown. "Do you regret it?" Yixing's head snapped towards him. "Do you regret meeting me like this?" Baekhyun gazed at him with a solemn stare, waiting with anticipation. Yixing kept quiet, his eyes locked with Baekhyun's, the time stretching on.

"Never." The whisper floated on the evening wind and Baekhyun's heart was at peace. It felt good, _extremely delightful_ to learn that your soul mate won't ever regret meeting you even if it wasn't their expected meeting.

"I don't regret meeting you like that too. Because I saw you in one of your best moments where you looked nothing short of an angel." Baekhyun smirked as Yixing's peachy cheeks turned redder as seconds passed by. "And I thought I was the cheesy one." Yixing remarked quietly, his tone filled with embarrassment and fondness.

For a few more minutes they both just kept on gazing at each other, probably noting down each of the other's features in detail to memorize them for a long time. Baekhyun then broke the silence when it got too awkward, "Want to recreate that edge of the universe scene from your imagination?" He asked with a barely hidden smirk. Yixing scrunched his nose a bit, but then smiled and replied back, "Sure, why not! We have a whole life time to recreate both of our imaginations, _together_."

And as Yixing joined him next to the piano, Baekhyun realised that getting that vocal nodule surgery done was perhaps one of the best decisions he had ever taken.

⋆｡˚

_~finite_

••••••••••••••

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading♡  
> Any form of feedback is appreciated


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